EMA: Around 1,500 Macon County residents, jail without water

Macon County officials confirmed a water outage affected about 1,500 residents.
Published: Aug. 28, 2023 at 5:29 PM CDT|Updated: Aug. 30, 2023 at 12:08 PM CDT
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MACON COUNTY, Ala. (WSFA) - Macon County officials confirm around 1,500 residents, plus the county jail, are currently without running water.

County officials confirm two wells went down in about a day’s time. One was on Germany Lane, while the other was on Coon Hop Road. The county’s Emergency Management Agency director, Frank Lee, said the first went down Sunday afternoon, and the second was hit by lightning Monday.

Lee said this left residents, the jail and several commercial properties without water.

When confirming the jail situation, Sheriff Andre Brunson said they are currently using gallon and bottled water for the inmates. Lee said they hope to bring in technicians to repair the situation Tuesday.

Brunson said they do not know how long it will take to get the situation resolved. He said they have requested mutual aid from the state to provide water in the meantime.

The sheriff said some of the inmates may also need to be temporarily relocated.

On Wednesday, the Heart of Alabama Food Bank announced that in conjunction with Feeding Alabama, it is providing 44,000 pounds of water to the county.

HAFB said that water will help sustain over 1,500 families impacted over the next few days.

Lee called the situation a “crisis,” saying he hopes the Macon County Commission will call an emergency meeting to provide relief.

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